Can I peg down a precise reason for my decision to take up Aikido? Honestly, probably not. I’ve been interested in taking up a martial art seriously ever since I was a kid.

Back then it was Karate – but I was put off by a teeming class full of students who were much more advanced than me, so it only lasted one lesson.

A LOT of years later I took up Kung-Fu and made it to two lessons that time (some progress eh?).

So it was that my ephemeral martial arts odyssey faltered and my dreams of whooping ass in the cool stylings of Jackie Chan came to an impromptu end – I suspect I may have wanted to do it for the wrong reasons. More years passed and on a pretty ordinary afternoon in April, Andy Hobday approached me and asked if I was interested in his Aikido class.

My first thought, “Yeah, that sounds great,” were followed swiftly by, “What’s Aikido?”

I’d heard of it but other than that I was completely ignorant. Andy quite kindly enlightened me. As well as offering his own experiences as expert testimony on the art, he also directed me to several Aikido websites that described the rationale and techniques behind it.

Aikido means, ‘Way of Harmony with Spirit’. This struck a cord with me. “It’s about how you approach life and has a lot to do with building confidence,” Andy told me. Now I was intrigued.

Perhaps this was the deeper spiritual resonance I was subconsciously looking for? Of course, I was concerned too. Remember, this is the guy who balked from Karate and never got past two Kung-Fu lessons. Would I be up to this challenge and what’s more, I’m not exactly a 6 foot brick out-house – could I even do it?

Andy was quick to allay my initial misgivings, explaining that fear is good as it makes you mindful and respectful. He also described some of the cultural aspects and ethos of the art, whose tenets epitomise control, confidence and technique over brute strength. Aikido also seeks the avoidance of conflict, to control a potentially violent situation and defuse it if possible. “If I have to use my Aikido,” Andy said, “then I’ve lost.” Oh yes, and in Aikido the short man is king as a low centre of gravity aids balance – now we’re talking.

From knowing little about Aikido and what it was about, I felt I was now in a position to understand what I was undertaking. It was comforting. Yet, as the day of the first lesson inevitably arrived it was with trepidatious steps that I began my journey proper…

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